Random Rules: Eugene Mirman

The shuffler: Eugene Mirman, the
"indie-rock comedian" who's opened for Modest Mouse, The Shins, and Yo La
Tengo. A leading light of the current New York comedy scene, and a really funny
guy. His new album (and first for Sub Pop), En Garde, Society!, will be released in May.

The Soft Boys, "I Got The Hots"

Eugene Mirman: You literally don't ask me
anything, and I'm supposed to just Well, The Soft Boys is Robyn Hitchcock's
first band, which I really like. I love Robyn Hitchcock's sort of sincerity and
absurdity meshed into one. And lots of the songs are pretty. And funny.

Buddy Holly, "That'll Be The Day"

EM: Buddy Holly, as you know, created the traditional
lineup of bass, guitar, drums, and then vocalist and maybe rhythm guitar or
something, and that helped everybody. And I like Buddy Holly a lot. I like a
lot of '50s stuff, like The Coasters, Buddy Holly, The Bobby Fuller Four. I
know that [Buddy Holly]'s still alive. He lives here in Park Slope. A lot of
people don't know that. But I could be mistaking him for hundreds of writers.

Billy Joel, "Sleeping With The Television On"

EM: I don't really know that song, but I do know the
one that goes, "You may be right, I may be crazy." I'm not mad at Billy Joel, I
like that song and I have that CD because of it, but I don't really know this
one. I don't feel guilty for enjoying the song about being crazy. Plus
everybody likes to hear it when you play it at a bar.

Mötley Crüe, "Come On And Dance"

EM: I grew up listening to lots of heavy metal. And
yet I still respect women, so it didn't really damage me too much. In this
song, I believe he wants people to come on and dance. And I think he succeeds.
My guess is I've never really danced to it. Sometimes late at night, I might. I
wouldn't be ashamed to dance to Crüe.

Imperial Teen, "Ivanka"

EM: I saw them at South By Southwest, like, five years
ago and I really liked them, and I got the album On, which I enjoy a lot.
Very fun. Sort of catchy, poppy, pretty album. And then recently I found out
that the guy's main band was Faith No More. I think that's true. Or a totally
unnecessary rumor. I don't have much to say, but it's a good time.

Emo Philips, "A Dreamy Dilemma"

EM: Oh, here we go! I loved Emo as a kid. He was my
favorite comic, and I used to listen to his two records all the time, and now I
have them on one convenient CD in my iPod. His jokes are very art-and-crafty.
He had stuff about [Thomas] Aquinas, which I didn't totally get as a kid, but
eventually I did. And then the stuff that I did get, I really enjoyed. But he
was very different from the sort of seemingly traditional comedy about dating
or whatever.

Belle And Sebastian, "You Made Me Forget My
Dreams"

EM: Um, unless something triggers a high-school
memory, all my descriptions are gonna be like, "It's a pretty song!" You know,
actually, I do have something good to say about Belle And Sebastian. I saw them
at Town Hall and they brought a girl onstage and they asked her what song she
wanted to sing, and I believe she chose the duet ["Lazy Line Painter Jane"].
And it was amazing; she sang a duet with the lead singer of Belle And
Sebastian. And she did a very good job and everybody cheered, because it was so
exciting. It was very charming. And I believe that one of them maybe also did
an impression of Elvis Costello singing. So they were fun live, and I always
appreciated that, that they made some girl's dreams come true.

Jethro Tull, "Up The Pool"

EM: I have lots of Jethro Tull because I also am mad
at organized religion. When I was in high school, I really liked Jethro Tull,
and I still enjoy it. I think that I really loved and identified with their
brand of arrogant orchestral rock. They do have a fair number of songs about
religion being hijacked. Though I wasn't very religious or surrounded by it, I
always was like "Yeah!" [Laughs.] I really extra-agreed with it.

Alina Simone, "Track Seven"

EM: She's a friend of mine from high school who just
finished recording her album and is now shopping it around, and I believe her
EP was well-received by Pitchfork and various things. She's also Russian and my
first friend from elementary school. I just got it from her a few days ago, so
I haven't heard the album, but track seven seems like a great one.

Jethro Tull, "Aqualung"

EM: [Laughs.] I believe his wife wrote the lyrics to
this, so that's good. "Salvation à la mode and a cup of tea." That's a line
from it.

Aerosmith, "Cheesecake"

EM: I don't think I know the song specifically, but
I'm from Boston. I still love their first handful of albums, because they're
great indie-ish rock 'n' roll. I bet if Aerosmith's first or second album came
out right now, people would really regard it well in the indie community, and
then in general it would become a hit.

Aerosmith, "No Surprise"

EM: Off of the same album, Night In The Ruts. And in that album title,
they switch, I believe, the R and the N, so it's a joke about "right in the
nuts." That's right before they broke up and then reformed to later release Done
With Mirrors,
and then of course the smash Permanent Vacation.

The Velvet Underground, "The Murder Mystery"

EM: It's funny that more Velvet Underground didn't
come on, 'cause I do have a great deal of it. There's lots of Aerosmith and
Jethro Tull, but it is dwarfed by the box sets that Velvet Underground release
every few years. When I heard The Velvet Underground, I decided to become a
comedian. I think The Velvet Underground are very funny in a very specific way
that I do actually really admire and love. I think each one of these things
that I like at different times convey a spirit of something that I really like
in art from either being fun or very poignant or interesting or whatever.
That's mainly the common thread. Though at one point it was "Yo Mamma" by
Aerosmith, because of its furious riff. And now it might be "Beginning To See
The Light."